UNDATED (AP) — The Houston Astros have maintained their 3 1/2-game lead over Oakland in the AL West.
Jose Altuve celebrated the 10th anniversary of his major league debut with homers in his first two at-bats to jumpstart the Astros’ 9-3 pounding of the Indians. Altuve smacked his seventh leadoff homer of the season to put Houston ahead to stay.
Kyle Tucker added a two-run homer as the Astros broke the game open with a six-run fifth that made it 8-0.
Luis Garcia continued his strong season, scattering three hits over six scoreless innings of the Astros’ third win in a row.
The Athletics completed a two-game sweep with a snappy 6-0 shutout of the Angels. Matt Olson homered for the second straight day and added an RBI single. The blast left him tied for fourth in the majors with 25.
James Kaprielian had another strong performance, scattering five hits and striking out seven over six innings to lower his ERA to 2.65.
Ramon Laureano hit a two-run double while the Athletics scored three times in the sixth inning to take control.
Also on the major league schedule:
— Marco Gonzales got his first win in three months by allowing two runs over five innings of the Mariners’ 6-4 victory at Colorado. The Mariners started the inning with four straight hits, the last being Cal Raleigh’s two-run double that tied the game. Dylan Moore put them ahead with a two-out, two-run homer off Germán Márquez, who had his first home loss since May 4.
— Francisco Mejía drove in five with a two-run homer and a bases-loaded triple to highlight the Rays’ attack in a 9-3 romp over the Orioles. Randy Arozarena also homered to help Tampa Bay climb within one game of the AL East-leading Red Sox. Baltimore ace John Means returned from a shoulder injury and allowed five runs and seven hits over five innings of his first start since June 5.
— The Yankees earned their third straight win by belting four home runs in a 6-4 downing of the Phillies. Brett Gardner, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton and Estevan Florial each hit solo homers as the Yanks prevented the Phils from cutting their 2 ½-game deficit in the NL East. Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth for his first save in over a month despite allowing Andre McCutchen’s solo shot.
— Jose Abreu doubled and tripled early before his three-run blast capped a five-run eighth that sent the White Sox past the Twins, 9-5. Abreu’s 18th home run of the season occurred shortly after the Twins seized their first lead in the top of the inning on a two-run home run by Jorge Polanco off reliever Ryan Burr. Yoan Moncada clubbed a two-run home run, his third round-tripper in his last four games after going 26 games without one.
— The Tigers picked up their fifth straight win as Robbie Grossman and Eric Haase homered in a 4-1 decision over the Rangers. Tarik Skubal got the win, giving up one run on four hits in six innings. The Rangers have lost seven straight games and have been outscored 43-3 in their five games since the All-Star break, including three straight shutouts before Tuesday.
— Ryan O’Hearn and Jorge Soler homered for the Royals in a 5-2 win over the Brewers. Mike Minor allowed one earn run and five hits in six innings, snapping a personal four-start losing streak. Manny Pina hit a two-run single for the Brewers, who moved up the start time four hours so fans could watch the Bucks host the Suns in the NBA Finals.
— Javier Baez laced a two-run single and Ian Happ added a two-run double during a six-run ninth that pushed the Cubs past the Cardinals, 7-6. Chicago was able to come back against St. Louis closer Alex Reyes, who converted his first 22 saves opportunities this season. Nolan Arenado, Jose Rondon and Tommy Edman homered for St. Louis, which had won three in a row.
— The Reds’ four-game skid is over after Joey Votto and Aristides Aquino went deep on consecutive pitches to power them past the Mets, 4-3. Jonathan India slammed his first career leadoff homer, a no-doubt shot to center that glanced off the batter’s eye. Wade Miley shook off Pete Alonso’s first inning home run to pitch into the seventh, giving up two runs and seven hits.
— Touki Toussaint allowed one run and three hits over 6 1/3 innings of his season debut to pitch the Braves past the Padres, 2-1. Toussaint was back from a right shoulder strain and retired the first seven batters he faced before walking Victor Caratini in the third. Freddie Freeman smacked a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning, giving him five round-trippers in his last seven games.
— Pinch-hitter Will Smith crushed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Dodgers’ comeback in an 8-6 stunner against the Giants. Chris Taylor powered the rally with the third multi-homer game of his career belting a solo shot in the fifth and a two-run drive an inning later. Alex Dickerson, Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Thairo Estrada went deep for the Giants, who went ahead 6-1 before their lead in the NL West dropped to one game over Los Angeles.
— Josh Bell hit his 100th career home run and the Nationals picked up their third straight win by defeating the Marlins, 6-3. Miami led in the sixth before pinch-hitter Yadiel Hernandez Trea Turner and Juan Soto delivered RBI singles. Adam Duvall’s three-run homer gave the Marlins a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth.
— Josh VanMeter had a triple and a double while the Diamondbacks erupted for eight runs in the seventh inning of an 11-7 win against the Pirates. Josh Reddick’s two-run single broke a tie with two out in the seventh before Arizona won its third in a row, the Diamondbacks’ longest winning streak since April. John Nogowski hit his first major league home run and Gregory Polanco also went deep for Pittsburgh, which led 5-1 after 4 1/2 innings.
— The Red Sox-Blue Jays game in Buffalo was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of an August 7 doubleheader. The makeup game will be played in Toronto.
